FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: December 8, 2023
CONTACT: Meghan Hurley, Communications Manager, meghan@maineconservation.org, (603) 707-9318 (cell)
New Video: Maine Elected Officials and Clean Energy Advocates Celebrate Progress on Offshore Wind in 2023
(Augusta, ME) – Maine Conservation Voters released a new video featuring policymakers, scientists, and advocates who helped pass LD 1895, Maine’s new offshore wind law. LD 1895, An Act Regarding the Procurement of Energy from Offshore Wind Resources, will ensure the responsible development of offshore wind in the Gulf of Maine and encourage new deepwater port construction while maintaining strong standards to ensure good-paying and union jobs for Maine workers.
The video features the following voices representing policy, science, labor, and advocacy:
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Senator Stacy Brenner, Scarborough
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Senator Chip Curry, Belfast
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Senator Mark Lawrence, Eliot
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Representative Valli Geiger, Rockland
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Laura Minich Zitske, Wildlife Ecologist, Maine Audubon
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Leo Hilton, Apprentice, IBEW 567
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Maggie Somers, Maine Conservation Voters
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Kathleen Meil, Maine Conservation Voters
BACKGROUND ON THE PASSAGE OF LD 1895:
The Governor’s Energy Office (GEO) engaged a wide variety of stakeholders – including representatives from coastal communities, fisheries, business, conservation, clean energy, organized labor, and state government – in a multiyear process to develop the Maine Offshore Wind Roadmap.
LD 1895 is the culmination of this work and builds on the Roadmap’s framework of responsible and equitable offshore wind development by requiring strong labor protections and fostering inclusive benefits for Maine’s most vulnerable communities.
The law sets a goal and procurement schedule for 3 gigawatts of offshore wind energy installed by 2040, which can be reevaluated and increased periodically by GEO.
GEO will also lead a public stakeholder process that will inform developer plan requirements for stakeholder engagement, economic and community benefits, diversity, equity, and inclusion in employment and contracting, and fisheries and wildlife research, monitoring, and mitigation.
The law requires a request for comments from each federally recognized tribe in the state and the Maine Indian Tribal-State Commission in crafting these plans. It will enact top recommendations from the Roadmap, including establishing strong standards for wildlife, fisheries, and environmental monitoring and mitigation.
Additionally, the law incentivizes developers to avoid one of Maine’s most important lobster fishing grounds, Lobster Management Area 1 (LMA1). In light of this, the Federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management is currently weighing eliminating this area from consideration entirely.
LD 1895 will ensure that a Maine offshore wind port is built with the same strong labor standards, that host communities benefit from port construction, and that Maine workers are prioritized. The law creates a framework for fairly and expeditiously permitting offshore wind port infrastructure.
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Maine Conservation Voters protects Maine’s environment and our democracy by influencing public policy, holding politicians accountable, and winning elections.